A bar with out of kilter music

After lunch in a place called Bad Meat it was difficult to tell if the man who had helped us through our order was congratulating me, or perhaps there was more sorrow in his voice, as he told me that the tin robot into which I had been shovelling my coins by way of a tip was a collection tin for a local dog’s home. All being in Polish it was difficult to tell.

Notwithstanding that confusion we had a sustaining vegetarian lunch helped along with a pint from the bar next door.

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The day had started with a trip to the Panarama of Raclawice, a painting in the round some 15 metres tall and 152 metres long, celebrating a famous Polish victory over the Russians from the 18th century.

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Suitably bucked up with the epic vision of war and death we carried on walking through the back streets of Wroclaw occasionally finding ourselves surrounded by flats of communist grey concrete some of which looked as if they might be about to crumble into the ground.

We walked past a bar from which we could hear some vaguely cool music. There was a model of a crocodile outside holding a balloon. We promised ourselves that we would go back that evening knowing that we wouldn’t and then thought that the bar looked too good to miss out on. So, although the sun was shining and it was warm enough to sit outside, we turned round and went inside. It was suitably dark and dingy but there were coloured reliefs on the ceiling and gold Art Deco light fittings of scantily clad women. There were booths with tattered leather seats, a window of coloured glass and a small bar with heavy iron seats. They were selling a dark heavy Polish beer and playing of kilter music.

It was a happy place to while away an hour or so as the world passed by outside.